Need help with feeding plan

[RoosterHollow]

Ok-- I thought I had a decent plan/idea of what I was doing but i'm having some issues and could really use some help from some more experienced folks.

So I have 3 alpines does which I brought home 3/25....a four year old who kidded twins on 3/22, and two (two year old) first fresheners who each kidded a single on 3/26 and 3/27 respectively. (Kids are being Dam raised)

At the last place they were getting grass hay (fine stemmed, but brown) and all stock feed, minerals and water.

Here they are on free choice alfalfa hay, sweetlix meatmaker mineral free choice, water, and they are each getting about 1.5 cups of Noble Goat Dairy parlor twice a day on the milkstand, plus all day access to pasture (just under an acre, all grass).

The issues i'm having are 1) they are thin...(probably a 2 on BCS, maybe a bit under on the thinnest) I realize they are early in lactation, but I would like to keep them from losing anymore condition and hopefully get a bit more on them if possible. At this point I'm milking twice a day....mostly due to the first fresheners kids only favoring one side....also so that I can feed them individually). I would love to increase their ration as I think they need it...but issue 2) Dog logs!!!. They had berries the day I brought them home, but pretty much since then they have had clumpy poo or full on dog logs. I had a fecal done on Monday (mixed sample of all 3 girls, came back with strongyle (105) and coccidia (8)) and wormed them on Tuesday with Ivomec. I'm also giving probios to see if that will help. At this point I'm not sure if it's a worm issue, too much ration, or the pasture.

Any thoughts or advise would be most welcome!!

 

[OneFineAcre]

Ok-- I thought I had a decent plan/idea of what I was doing but i'm having some issues and could really use some help from some more experienced folks.

So I have 3 alpines does which I brought home 3/25....a four year old who kidded twins on 3/22, and two (two year old) first fresheners who each kidded a single on 3/26 and 3/27 respectively. (Kids are being Dam raised)

At the last place they were getting grass hay (fine stemmed, but brown) and all stock feed, minerals and water.

Here they are on free choice alfalfa hay, sweetlix meatmaker mineral free choice, water, and they are each getting about 1.5 cups of Noble Goat Dairy parlor twice a day on the milkstand, plus all day access to pasture (just under an acre, all grass).

The issues i'm having are 1) they are thin...(probably a 2 on BCS, maybe a bit under on the thinnest) I realize they are early in lactation, but I would like to keep them from losing anymore condition and hopefully get a bit more on them if possible. At this point I'm milking twice a day....mostly due to the first fresheners kids only favoring one side....also so that I can feed them individually). I would love to increase their ration as I think they need it...but issue 2) Dog logs!!!. They had berries the day I brought them home, but pretty much since then they have had clumpy poo or full on dog logs. I had a fecal done on Monday (mixed sample of all 3 girls, came back with strongyle (105) and coccidia (8)) and wormed them on Tuesday with Ivomec. I'm also giving probios to see if that will help. At this point I'm not sure if it's a worm issue, too much ration, or the pasture.

Any thoughts or advise would be most welcome!!

You're feeding them better than they were being fed. You are feeding them better than I feed mine and I have more that need to lose weight than need to gain weight.

I think you should give them more than 1.5 cups of feed per day. I think Noble Goat has all of what they need, other's may be able to comment more on that feed. I feed mine a local mix which is an all stock and probably not as good as what you feed. But, I think they need more than 1.5 cups. I don't have standard goats so I can't say how much for sure. Somebody else can offer that advise, but I don't think it is enough. You would want to increase gradually.

I wouldn't worry about the logs too much either at this point, especially with your worm count.

You're worm count is not high.

You are feeding them better, but they have still had a change in feed, which is probably why you have the logs.

If they were under conditioned when you got them and they have kidded, you should be patient and stick to your plan. It will be difficult to add weight.

Depending on your plan or your needs, you may want to dry them off sooner, or give more time before you re-breed to try to improve their condition.

Overall you are feeding them properly. Just probably need to gradually boost the feed.

 

[cjhubbs]

I definitely would give them more feed then 1 1/2 cup per day. At the moment I feed my companion non-milking doe 1 1/2 cup s of grain per day and my pregnant goat gets 3 cups. When my goat was milking I followed the previous owners recommendations and fed her 2-3 cups of grain in the morning and 2-3 at the night, depending on the amount of milk they were producing. She stayed in great condition when I fed her this amount of feed and I even milked her for nearly 2 years, on this feeding schedule.

 

[RoosterHollow]

Thank you both for the feedback. They are actually getting 1.5 cups at each feeding...so about 3 cups total per day. I was hesitant to increase it since the dog log issue has been going on so long and it seemed like the feed might be to blame. But I will gradually start increasing it...and see what happens. My first fresheners are producing well, and as much as I would love to see their milking potential...I think that I will go really easy on them and probably dry them off earlier than planned. Glad to hear that overall the plan looks solid...just need to increase the ration and be patient....soooo not my strong suit by the way .